Japan, Korea to Unveil 3G Wireless Telecom Services
October 24, 2000 (TAIPEI) -- Japan and Korea are gearing up to launch
their third-generation (3G) wireless communication services.
SK Telecom Co., Ltd. and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. are preparing to
launch their initial 3G service, called CDMA20001X, within a few days.
Meanwhile, Japan's NTT DoCoMo Inc. plans to debut its pioneering W-CDMA
service in November. ????? A series of promotions will likely begin after the
product appearances, giving these wireless telecom giants a chance to
make some big splashes with their 3G applications know-how.
CDMA (or code-division multiple access) is a digital cellular technology
that uses spread-spectrum techniques. Unlike competing systems, such as
GSM, which use time-division multiplexing (TDM), CDMA doesn't assign a
specific frequency to each user. Instead, every channel uses the full
available spectrum. Individual conversations are encoded with a
pseudo-random digital sequence.
At present, 3G services have three major standards, including CDMA 2000,
W-CDMA and TDS-CDMA. However, an international telecom task force is
studying this matter, and is expected to decide on a global standard before
long. The battle for control of study direction in this task force is now
heating up. Leading telecom companies are sparing no effort to develop
their 3G services aiming to beat their rivals in this market.
In Asia, telecom service providers in Japan, Korea and China are among the
innovators in the 3G field.
Korea's SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics have made no secret of their
ambitions to be standard setters. They say that CDMA20001X, the first
phase of their successful development of 3G services, is capable of
running at 115kbps at present, but will soon be able to provide a
transmission service of 2Mbps, or the speed required for a fast and
reliable 3G service. Also, Samsung hopes to improve the functions of its
mobile phones, to make them suitable vehicles for a 3G service.
Japan's NTT DoCoMo will introduce a pioneering 3G service for commercial
use this November, and launch fully developed commercial services in May
2001. NTT DoCoMo announced that several system and telecom-equipment
powerhouses, including NEC Corp., Fujitsu Ltd. and Matsushita Electric
Industrial Co., Ltd., would power its W-CDMA 3G service, at least from
November to next April.
NTT DoCoMo predicted that up to 80 percent of Japan's population would
subscribe to its W-CDMA service by the end of 2003.
China, a rising star in the 3G sector, is said to have received strong
support from most global equipment makers after it unveiled its
TDS-CDMA this summer. A market watcher said he wasn't surprised,
because all leading global phone makers see China as a highly profitable
market.
Taiwan, which is lagging behind Japan, Korea and China, has again decided
to postpone measures to promote 3G businesses. Its Ministry of
Transportation and Communications (MOTC) announced that applications
for 3G licenses wouldn't be subject to invitations until June or July of
2001, instead of in the first quarter as originally planned. The MOTC plans
to license three to five companies for 3G businesses around the end of
next year.
Related stories: Mitsubishi Electric's Encryption Technology Adopted as
W-CDMA Standard
NTT DoCoMo to Demonstrate W-CDMA Technology at Beijing Telecom Show
Keen Competition Ahead for Lucrative 3G Mobile Phone License
(Commercial Times, Taiwan) |
